News Release

Thursday, January 31, 2002

West Valley Detectives Investigates Take-Over Robbery

"West Valley Detectives Investigates Take-Over Robbery"

Reseda: On Wednesday, January 30, 2002, at approximately 9:00 p.m., West Valley Area patrol officers responded to a "Robbery-In-Progress" radio call at the Pic-N-Save located at 18340 Vanowen Street in Reseda. Upon their arrival, the officers were told the suspects had escaped.

The investigation revealed that the Pic-N-Save manager was locking the doors for the night, as several customers finished their shopping. Among the shoppers were four male Black suspects and one female Black suspect. One of the male suspects approached the manager, pointed a handgun at the manager’s head and directed him to lock the door. A second male suspect simultaneously picked up a small child by the neck, and pointed his gun at the child while ordering the trapped customers to the rear of the store.

The manager was then forced at gunpoint to open the store safe. Several small children began crying. The suspect guarding them threatened to kill them if they did not shut up. When a nearby adult could not calm the children, she was struck in the back of the head. All the adult victims were robbed of their personal items.

The suspects fled through the front door. No vehicle was seen.

Four victims were transported to Valley Presbyterian Hospital and treated for minor wounds. A fifth victim was treated at the scene for cuts and bruises to his face by Los Angeles City Fire Department paramedics.

The suspects are described as follows:

Suspect 1 – Male, Black, 5’7, 160, 19-24 years old;

Suspect 2 – Male, Black, 6’0, 180-200, 20-25 years old;

Suspect 3 – Male, Black, 5’7-5’10, 170, 20-25 years old;

Suspect 4 – Male, Black, 5’8, 160, 20-25 years old;

Suspect 5 – Female, Black, 5’3, 120, 19-23 years old;

The weapons used include unknown type semi-automatic handguns and a sawed-off shotgun.

The identities of the store manager and other victims are not being released at this time.

Anyone with information should contact Detective L. Gligorijevic from the West Valley Robbery Unit at 818-756-8546 during business hours. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at the Detective Information Desk, 1-877-LAWFULL (1-877-529-3855).